Steam blower



July 15 1924. 1,501,090-

H. M C. BARR ET AL,

STEAM BLOWER Original Filed May 2 1921 ATTORNEYS Patented July 15, 1924.

HUGE M00. BARRY AND GEORGE amaze, or PENSACOLA, FLORIDA.

' srEAm BLOWER.

Application filed. May 2, 1921, Serial No. 465,983. Renewed December 10, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HUGH M. BARR and GEORGE EDGAR, citizens of the United States, and residents of Pensacola, in the county of Escambia and State .of Florida, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Steam Blowers, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is a steam blower for clean- 'ing ashes or cinders or other products of combustion, etc., from the combustion chamher or back connection of furnaces and particularly marine and stationary boilers.

It is well known that from continued use,

there collects in the back connection, or chamber of steam boilers and particularly marine and stationary boilers, ashes, cinders and other foreign matter or products of combustion which tend to clog up the' boiler tubes and interfere with combustion, but up to this time, no eflicient means has been provided for effectively cleaning out said back connection or combustion chamber Without scraping the latter or getting into the furna'ce fire box and removing such matter through the feed door thereof.

This invention contemplates a steam blower adapted to be arranged in the back con nection or combustion chamber of .marine and stationary boilers in particular and 'which has connection with a source of steam supply through the-medium of the boiler head-or chest, or with the main or auxiliary steam line, as shall be found most convenient, the pipe or supply connection having means for controlling the supply of steam to the blower proper so that the loose ashes and cinders' or any other forei matter lodgin in the connection will be lown out throug the bd iler or fire tubes and flue or smoke stack, the device being especially designed for use in connection with return draft boilers, of the fire tube type.

It is therefore a further and important object of the invention to provide a simple and improved steam blower for boilers which may be readily and conveniently installed, and by which the cleaning of the back connection or combustion chamber may be particularly and effectively carried out, and which will so discharge the steam as to act upon all surfaces and lodging places for such foreign matter or products of combustion so as to effectively clean the same and result in a better draft and more efficient operation of the furnace.

- Other and further objects of our invention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art, from a consideration of the following description when takenin conjunc tion with the accompanying drawings, wherein Fi ure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectiona view of a furnace or boiler equipped with an improved steam blower constructed in accordance with the invention, and

Figure 2 is a transverse vertical sectional View of the device, the section line being indicated at 22 of the drawing.

Referring tothe drawings in detail, in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown a conventional form of furnace or boiler as used in connection withv marine or stationary'heating plants, thesame being designatedat 1O and indicated as of having a return draft. The steam chest or head of the boiler proper is designated at 11. The fire box is designated at 12, and below the grate 13 is provided the ash pit 14, the latter having a clean out door 15 and the fire box being provided with the door 16 in the front portion 17. of the furnace in the usual manner. fire box and ash pit or.box,-and thus at the back end of the grate is arranged a vertical transverse division Wall .18 extending between the sides of the fire box and extending from the bottom wall of the latter toward but terminating short of the boiler tubes or fiues 19 of the boiler proper, as shown at 20,

the water in the boiler circulating around said tubes in the usual way.

Between the division wall 18 constituting the bridge Wall arch of the furnace and the back Wall 21, there is provided a back connection or combustion chamber 22 in which loose ashes, cinders, waste products of com bustion or other foreign matter will become collected or lodged during the continued use of the furnace, the draft being rearward through either of said doors, and over said division wall 18, then through the boiler tubes 19 and out the flue or smoke stack 23 which latter is arranged at the front of the furnace. In this manner, the heat from the products of combustion will effectively heat the water and raise the same to the ropcr temperature resulting in the generation of steam.

The steam thus generated is employed in connection with the cleanout device or blow- In rear of they or, which embodies a perforated plate, mushroom head or cast iron head, as indicated at 24, the same being arranged within the circular bottom portion of the back connection or combustion chamber 22' as clearly shown in Figure 2 of the drawing and supported in spaced relation. by means of feet or brackets 25. As shown, this foraminous or perforated blower device is of semi-circular cross section, the flat face extending diametrically and being disposed at the bottom and the semi-circular curved surface being exposed uppermost, and provided with a series of perforations asindicated at 26 of suitable size, preferably about %ths of an inch in diameter. One end of the blower head or pipe is closed, as indicated at 27 and the opposite end is arranged to afford connection with a steam supply pipe 28, which latter may extend from, a suitable source of supply, such as a boiler or header proper, or may constitute the main or auxiliary steam line.

As indicated, this steam line or pipe is provided with'an inlet 29 leading from the steam chamber of the boiler and extending around the outside of the furnace to a point adjacent to the end of the blower head or pipe 24, where it is extended in water and steam tight connection through the walls 10 and 21 forconnection to the adjacent end of said head or pipe as indicated at 30, suitable pipe fittings beinglemployed, as is very common in the art. owever, the connection is made detachablein order to facilitate the application of the device or disconnection thereof for cleaning, renewal or repair. In the pipe line, is interposed a globe or other type of control valve 31, in order that the supply of steam to the blower proper may be regulated and controlled so that the device may remain inoperative while the furnace is in use, or gpened to in turn drive steam into the blower in the back connection which will result in the discharge thereof through the apertures or holes in the lower head or pipe, in the manner particularly indicated in Fi ure lof the drawings, so as to discharge sai steam into all crevices and effectively loosen and remove waste products of combustion and other foreign matter accumulating therein. Obviously, when the steam is turned on, the loose ashes and cinders will be blown from the back connection chamber out through the tubes and smoke stack, the course of the jets of steam and the products ofcombustion and foreign matter carried along therewith when the furnace is in use being that indicated by the arrows. Of course, whether the furnace is in use or not, the loose ashes and cinders which have become collected or lodged in the back connection will also be effectively removed, taking the same course and thereby serving to thoroughly clean out the boiler in which the draft is rearward over the fire box and bridge wall arch, forming a division wall at the rear end of the fire box, and grate, as well as the ash box or pit, and in which the return draft is forward through the boiler tubes or flues, it is to be understood that the blower and the principles embodied in its application and use, may be employed in connection with other types of boilers with equal facility and t at we do not restrict ourselves to the specific type of boiler shown. It is also to be understood that the specific form of blower head may be modified both as to position and form, and that the same may be of circular, semi-circular or other cross sectional shape, so long as it is provided with perforations through which the dr steam may be discharged under pressure fbr carrying out the objects of the invention. In addition, the blower head may be connected directly to the steam space of the boiler, to any one or more headers or superheaters that may constitute the main or auxiliary steam line, using either of these lines as will be found most convenient in accordance with the particular type of furnace or' boiler to which the invention is applied, reference being had also to the location of the valve for controlling the supply to the blower head as described.

However, when the steam blower is not working and is shut off, the valve 31 being closed, provision is made for the circulation of cold air through the main steam line pipe below said valve 31 and through the blower head 24 consisting of a' valve 32 having a short pipe 33 leading therefrom and open to the atmosphere, thus permitting a circulation of cold air through the pipe and blower head inorder to keep the same cool and prevent it from'burning out. Also, by reason of the draft created within the furnace chamber an additional supplyv of oxygen Will be drawn in to facilitate combustion, especially in the back connection and thereby eliminate considerable waste.

In view of the foregoing, it is thought that the operation of the device will be readily understood, and in view of its simplicity and practical value that it will readily commend itself to those skilled in the art.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is A cleanout device of the character described comprising in combination with the back connection or combustion chamber of a furnace or boiler, a blower head mounted upon the bottom of the back connectin or combustion chamber in spaced relation valve thereto and being curved to conform to the tween the valve and th curvature of the bottom wall, a conduit for by a cleaning fluid may be supplied to the w d intake connection for the conduit bee blower head, whereconductlng steam from esource of supply to blower head when desired.

5 the blower head, a valve located exteriorl of the furnace or boiler for controlling the flow of steam through the conduit, and e HUGH McC. BARR. GEORGE EDGAR. 

